Titus Welliver, Jamie Hector and Amy Aquino in Season Two of ‘Bosch’

The Michael Connelly character Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch first premiered in a series of books in 1992. As this is written, the character has led to 24 distinct books and two distinct television shows. We focus here on the second season of the series Bosch (2014-2021), starring Titus Welliver in the title role for the series.

(From left, Brad Carter as Chilton Hardy and Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch in the second season of Bosch).

The storyline for this season picks up six months after Harry Bosch‘s police unit in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California sought a serial killer in the show’s first season. The ten episodes of the second season were adapted from the Michael Connelly books The Last Coyote, Trunk Music and The Drop. The story sees Harry Bosch following a new case of a Hollywood film producer with potential connections to the mob. Information about the years-ago death of Bosch‘s mother introduces the possibility of driving the detective to distraction.

(From left and near lectern, Erika Alexander as Connie Irving, Lance Reddick as Irvin Irving, Steven Culp as Richard O’Shea and Leslie Stevens as Patricia O’Shea in season two of Bosch).

Deputy Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, Irvin Irving as portrayed by Lance Reddick, at first aims to stay above the details of the investigation that Harry is pursuing. Irving‘s son, portrayed by Robbie Jones with the character name George Irving, goes undercover on the force. Harry’s investigation heads to Las Vegas, Nevada as George’s experiences in plainclothes begin to introduce a set of considerations for the full Irving family.

(From left, Jamie Hector as Jerry Edgar, Jeri Ryan as Veronica Allen and Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch in the second season of Bosch).

Harry’s time in Nevada reveals that not all is well for Harry‘s ex-wife, Eleanor Wish as portrayed by Sarah Clarke, and her situation with her current husband. The child between Eleanor and Harry, Maddie Bosch as portrayed by Madison Lintz, in certain ways is caught in the middle of multiple situations. Deputy Chief Irving, meanwhile, chimes in with his support of the mayoral race by supporting Richard O’Shea. Steven Culp portrayed by mayoral candidate O’Shea.

(From left, Jamie Hector as Jerry Edgar and Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch in season two of Bosch).

While Deputy Chief Irving’s support for mayor begins to introduce some political fallout for the deputy chief, things too get messy between Bosch‘s murder investigation, the mob and his familial past. Bosch‘s encounter with mob boss Joey Marks, with roots in Armenia and as portrayed by Tom Mardirosian, lead to serious questions for what course to pursue. Bosch and his partner, Jerry Edgar as portrayed by Jamie Hector, pursue Marks while Bosch takes specific measures to protect his daughter and ex-wife.

(From left, John Marshall Jones as Jay Griffin and Sarah Clarke as Eleanor Wish in season two of Bosch).

Circumstances escalate severely in the familial lives of the Irving family and the Bosch / Wish family take unexpected and dark turns as the tensions elevate each family. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) brings in a surprise approach, through Jay Griffin as portrayed by John Marshall Jones, that prompts the LAPD officers to reconsider their original theories of the murder that opened this season. There are the threads of the murder investigation along with the FBI‘s interest in a potentially related set of crimes. There’s familial fallout for the Irvings, the Bosches and the Wishes sharply placed in focus against the trajectory for the mayoral campaign and violence that comes to call with the mob story that includes the tales of Veronica Allen, as portrayed by Jeri Ryan, and Carl Nash as portrayed by Brent Sexton.

(From left, Amy Aquino as Grace Billets and Madison Lintz as Maddie Bosch in Bosch).

The stakes in play for season two make for entertaining television. The tension is real, the characters have depth and character growth. Addressing the puzzle with Harry Bosch‘s mother was an appreciated twist. The investment in feelings among the characters makes for an engaging experience binging this season. I grant season two of Bosch as presented as an Amazon original series, 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner and the film ‘The Town’

There were the towns of Charlestown and Boston in Massachusetts, serving as characters just as distinctly as the people in the movie The Town (2010). There was the notion of burglary, armored trucks, banks, and Fenway Park serving as places just as distinctly as there were funny notions of love and loyalty. Finally, there was the resolution of criminals fighting the notion of getting pinched, all tracing back to the source story for The Town, based on the book Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan.

(Slaine as Albert ‘Gloansy’ Magloan, Ben Affleck as Doug MacRay, Jeremy Renner as James Coughlin, and Owen Burke as Desmond Elden in The Town).

Ben Affleck plays Doug MacRay and Jeremy Renner plays James Coughlin, two members of a four member burglary set with Albert ‘Gloansy’ Magloan and Desmond Elden who rob banks and armored vehicles for money as a relatively practiced and efficient burglary ring having grown up in Charlestown. There is definite history among the group, which is revealed with suggested emotional depth through the film that at times is undersold by through the film. Renner is especially convincing in his role as Thomas Coughlin.

(Jon Hamm as FBI S.A. Adam Frawley, left, and Rebecca Hall as Claire Keesey in The Town).

After a burglary that includes the taking of a hostage, Doug MacRay takes a love interest in Claire Keesey, as played by Rebecca Hall. Seeing connections between this robbery and the organization run out of the flower business of a notorious criminal run by Fergus ‘Fergie’ Colm, FBI S.A. Adam Frawley and Dino Ciampa land pursue the criminals.

(Pete Postlethwaite as Fergus ‘Fergie’ Colm, top, and Dennis McLaughlin as Rusty in The Town).

Jon Hamm plays FBI S.A. Adam Frawley while Pete Postlethwaite plays Fergus ‘Fergie’ Colm. Rusty aids Colm in the delivery of messages as appropriate in service of the larger enterprise, which eventually turns to the large heist that The Town is leading towards. The backdrop of their illegal enterprise is the store front of the flower shop run by Colm.

(Left to right: Chris Cooper as Doug MacRay’s father Stephen MacRay, Blake Lively as James Coughlin’s sister and Doug MacRay’s baby mother Krista Coughlin, and Titus Welliver as Dino Ciampa, who grew up in Charlestown and serves as assistant to Adam Frawley in The Town).

Besides the tension of the burglary, pressure to pull another heist, and the pull of family for James and Krista Coughlin, Doug and Stephen MacRay, and the added love angle with varying degrees of loyalty, time spent in jail, and the depths that some have gone and will go for these different constructs, that the past as well as place pull on each of these run deep. Even FBI man Dino Ciampa bears baggage in this tale, and the resonance is there and communicated well. That many of these culminate in a crowning jewel to these points in the story of Boston, and specifically Fenway Park, reinforces the larger pathos of many of these points in the story.

(Ben Affleck as Doug MacRay and Jeremy Renner as James Coughlin outside Fenway Park in The Town).

The emotion and the questions underpinning this story are winners governing the telling of this story. The hardest part for me in giving the telling of this story through the cinematic telling of The Town is that I never believed Ben Affleck as Doug MacRay. It simply feels to me like Affleck wanted this role along with the telling of this story too much. The emotion of the character, as I felt, never really rang true for me. For a movie that I very much wanted to rate higher, I give The Town 3.50-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Monday, December 16, 2019